Karlo Todorov Lukanov ( bg, Карло Тодоров Луканов; – 15 July 1982) was a

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n politician of the

Bulgarian Communist Party The Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; bg, Българска Комунистическа Партия (БКП), Balgarska komunisticheska partiya (BKP)) was the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 198 ...

and

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

from 1956 to 1962. His father Todor Lukanov and his son

Andrey Lukanov Andrey Karlov Lukanov ( ) (26 September 1938 – 2 October 1996) was a Bulgarian politician. Between February and November 1990, was the final Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. Biography Early life Lukanov was born in Moscow, ...

were both prominent socialist and communist politicians.

Biography

Karlo Lukanov was born in

Pleven Pleven ( bg, Плèвен ) is the seventh most populous city in Bulgaria. Located in the northern part of the country, it is the administrative centre of Pleven Province, as well as of the subordinate Pleven municipality. It is the biggest ...

, a city in north central Bulgaria, to the family of Todor Lukanov, a socialist politician and member of the

National Assembly of Bulgaria The National Assembly ( bg, Народно събрание, Narodno sabranie) is the unicameral parliament and legislative body of the Republic of Bulgaria. The National Assembly was established in 1879 with the Tarnovo Constitution. Ordi ...

from

Lovech Lovech ( bg, Ловеч, Lovech, ) is a List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, city in north-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech Municipality. The city is located about northeast f ...

. In 1917, he graduated from the

Military School for Reserve Officers A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and took part in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as part of the

Bulgarian Army The Bulgarian Land Forces ( bg, Сухопътни войски на България, Sukhopŭtni voĭski na Bŭlgariya, lit=Ground Forces of Bulgaria) are the ground warfare branch of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The Land Forces were established ...

's 26th Artillery Regiment. In the same year, Lukanov joined the Bulgarian Workers' Social Democratic Party (Narrow Socialists), a precursor of the

. In 1921, Lukanov graduated in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

from the Clement of Ohrid University of Sofia to become a lawyer in Pleven. During the

White Terror White Terror is the name of several episodes of mass violence in history, carried out against anarchists, communists, socialists, liberals, revolutionaries, or other opponents by conservative or nationalist groups. It is sometimes contrasted wit ...

which ensued in the wake of the

St Nedelya Church assault The St Nedelya Church assault was a terrorist attack on St Nedelya Church in Sofia, Bulgaria. It was carried out on 16 April 1925, when a group of the Military Organisation of the Bulgarian Communist Party directed and supplied by the Soviet Mili ...

of 1925, he was sentenced to four years in prison, but amnestied in 1926. Shortly thereafter, Lukanov moved to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, where he worked as a clerk at a construction company. From 1927 to 1944, he was on the books of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), later known as the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

. In 1936, Lukanov left for

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, where he remained until 1939. In Spain, Lukanov took various governing positions within the

International Brigades The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existed f ...

that assisted the Republican forces in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. After his return to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, Lukanov worked at the

Comintern The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet Union, Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to ...

and from 1941 on at the

Hristo Botev Hristo Botev ( bg, Христо Ботев, ), born Hristo Botyov Petkov (Христо Ботьов Петков; – ), was a Bulgarian revolutionary and poet. Botev is considered by Bulgarians to be a symbolic historical figure and nationa ...

Bulgarian-language radio. Following the 9 September coup d'état of 1944, Lukanov returned to Bulgaria, where he was appointed director of the

Bulgarian National Radio Bulgarian National Radio ( bg, Българско национално радио, ''Bulgarsko natsionalno radio''; abbreviated to БНР, BNR) is Bulgaria's national radio broadcasting organisation. It operates two national and nine regional cha ...

by the newly established communist government. He went on to hold various offices, including deputy chairman of the State Planning Commission, a ministry-rank institution in charge of the

People's Republic of Bulgaria The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; bg, Народна Република България (НРБ), ''Narodna Republika Balgariya, NRB'') was the official name of Bulgaria, when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the ...

planned economy A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, part ...

(1947–1949), chairman of the Committee for Science, Art and Culture (1949), chairman of the State Planning Commission (1949–1952) and deputy

Prime Minister of Bulgaria The prime minister of Bulgaria ( bg, Министър-председател, Ministar-predsedatel) is the head of government of Bulgaria. They are the leader of a political coalition in the Bulgarian parliament – known as the National Assemb ...

(1952–1954) under

Valko Chervenkov Valko Velyov Chervenkov ...

. In 1954, Lukanov was elected member of the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

of the Bulgarian Communist Party, a post he held until the end of his life. From 1954 to 1956, he was Bulgarian ambassador to the Soviet Union,

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

and

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Upon his return to Bulgaria Karlo Lukanov was appointed

under

Anton Yugov Anton Tanev (Dontcho) Yugov ( bg, Антон Танев Югов) (28 August 1904 – 6 July 1991) was a Bulgarian politician who was a leading member of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP), and served as Prime Minister of the country from 19 ...

(1956–1962) and briefly deputy Prime Minister (1956–1957). After his release from the government, he was sent to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

as Bulgarian ambassador (1963–1966). He died in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

on 15 July 1982 at the age of 84.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lukanov, Karlo Deputy prime ministers of Bulgaria Government ministers of Bulgaria Foreign ministers of Bulgaria Bulgarian Communist Party politicians People from Pleven 1897 births 1982 deaths Sofia University alumni Ambassadors of Bulgaria to the Soviet Union Ambassadors of Bulgaria to Finland Ambassadors of Bulgaria to Mongolia Ambassadors of Bulgaria to Switzerland Bulgarian diplomats Bulgarian military personnel of World War I International Brigades personnel Bulgarian people of the Spanish Civil War Heroes of the People's Republic of Bulgaria Bulgarian emigrants to the Soviet Union People granted political asylum in the Soviet Union